Chapter 578: The Arrival of the Dominion Flagships

The Star-Annihilator-class Ship descended slowly. Even though it wasn’t releasing any pressure on purpose, the ordinary captains beneath it still found their breaths coming heavier, as if mountains were pressing down on their shoulders.

Only the captains who had mastered Guiding Technique above the fourth tier fared slightly better, able to move freely and keep talking.

“Elder Li, you’ve seen a lot in your years—can you figure out the origins of this Star-Annihilator-class Ship?”

Hearing the question, many captains, especially those from prominent backgrounds or with decent strength, turned to look, obviously quite interested.

The elder in question remained calm—even with a Star-Annihilator-Class Ship hovering overhead, his expression barely changed.

This was Li Gai, a veteran Dreadnought Captain who’d roamed Goldenplate Floating-land for thousands of years, his name well known.

At the young noble’s inquiry, he swept his sharp gaze over the red Star-Annihilator overhead. After a long pause, he finally replied, completely at ease.

“A family crest featuring a Dragonspine Leviathan… Unless it’s from outside the Five-Plate Galaxy Clusters, this must be the Song Family of Longji from the Morningstar Kingdom in the Tianpan Galaxy—a force that’s risen up in just the past few centuries.”

“The Morningstar Kingdom?”

“Song Family of Longji…”

As Li Gai spoke, murmurs and chatter instantly spread—everyone was talking about the Morningstar Kingdom and the Song Family of Longji.

At that moment, a Battleship Captain suddenly spoke up:

“I’ve heard of the Morningstar Kingdom, but wasn’t the Song Family of Longji just a ‘quasi-Immortal House’ not long ago? If I recall, their trump card was a Dominion Flagship from the Three-Eyed Clan. Their rise hasn’t been for long—could there be some mistake…?”

Amidst the discussion, the big red Star-Annihilator stopped its descent. As the warship’s gate opened, a plain yet utterly overwhelming figure stepped out, someone no low-ranking captain below dared meet with their own eyes.

With a single step, this figure crossed tens of thousands of meters. On the second step, this majestic presence—impossible to look at directly—landed atop the welcome platform outside the main doors of the Chigu Auction House.

It was only then that the red Star-Annihilator above the city finally reacted, transforming into a streak of crimson light that shot down to follow its master.

When that light merged into the Star-Annihilator Captain’s brow, confirmation finally settled in the hearts of all the lesser captains who’d been sneaking glances.

“That’s it—a seventh-tier Torch Captain. After seven life evolutions, they’ve stepped into a demi-mythic realm. With a rules field empowering them, unless they want to be seen, lesser beings can’t look directly at these existences.”

While many captains were still guessing at the identity of the newcomer, the Chigu Luo Clan’s sixth-tier Clan Elder—who’d been respectfully waiting by the welcome platform—took the initiative to clear things up.

“Your Majesty, King Dinghai, welcome to the Chigu Auction House. Your presence is our honor! This way, please!”

Saying this, he stepped aside and raised his hand to personally show the way.

With these words, the captains below—now free from the Star-Annihilator’s oppressive presence—exchanged glances, most already having guessed the answer.

The Five-Plate Galaxy Cluster isn’t huge; when the Morningstar Kingdom was founded a few centuries ago, the news caused quite a stir. Even though Goldenplate Galaxy is the furthest from Tianpan, almost every big name in power knows the major factions of the new kingdom.

All the intel on the Morningstar Kingdom makes two names impossible to ignore: the Song Family of Longji and the Song Family of Dinghai.

So when the title ‘King Dinghai’ was spoken, there was no more doubt about the Star-Annihilator Captain’s true identity.

“So it’s really the Progenitor of the Song Family of Longji? Damn… That means in less than three hundred years, the Morningstar Kingdom has produced two real Star-Annihilator Captains?”

“That’s insane!”

While the lesser captains reeled at the news, Song Wujian followed the Luo Clan’s Dreadnought Elder toward the doors of the auction hall.

After that elder left, another Dreadnought Elder from the Luo Clan immediately stepped up to take his place—no surprise there.

Nobody found this odd.

Although the Chigu Luo Clan’s status had declined, their history spanned over twenty thousand years—longer than many Immortal Houses—and they’d once produced a Star-Annihilator Captain themselves, boosting the clan’s strength even further.

With that kind of foundation, it wasn’t surprising they fielded so many dreadnoughts.

Just as Song Wujian was about to enter the auction house, another Star-Annihilator-class Ship revealed itself above the city, looming from the mist.

This time, there was no need to guess—almost everyone recognized the latest arrival.

“Bright silver hull, tri-color energy shield… That must be the Black Flood King of the Yuans from Black Shark!”

Near the auction’s grand doors, Song Chi and Song Yan had just been released from the Dimensional Spatial Stone by the Clan Elder. At the mention of ‘Black Flood King,’ they both instinctively turned to look.

From what they knew, Black Flood King was the senior ancestor of the Black Shark Yuan family, having achieved Star-Annihilator Captain over ten thousand years ago—a true veteran. Naturally, they were curious.

But as they looked at the figure stepping from the warship, they, like the other low-ranking captains, felt as though layers of shifting chaos mist concealed the newcomer’s face. They couldn’t glimpse any true features—not even with the help of Dual Pupils.

Realizing this, the two immediately glanced at their Clan Elder.

The three of them stepped into the auction hall as a special energy field rippled out from Song Wujian, quickly enveloping all three.

Once finished, Song Wujian just gave the two a glance without saying a word.

Song Chi got the message instantly.

“Elder, you mean it’s because of this special energy field?”

As he spoke, both he and Song Yan glanced around at the energy field surrounding them.

Song Wujian’s voice followed a breath later.

“That’s correct. This field is called a rules field—or domain. Only after a living being masters the laws completely can it generate such a force of its own. It’s like a personal domain, with all kinds of amazing powers; making it hard for outsiders to look directly is only the most basic.”

“Of course, the Torch Battleship’s natural isolation can handle most of this effect. Apart from the special field radiation of the flesh-and-blood evil gods, most dominator fields don’t affect captains inside a Torch Battleship. That’s why, when you faced the Ancient Broodmother and King Bug, nothing seemed off.”

As he explained, the three followed the Luo Clan elder up to the top floor of the auction house, where they could easily look down on the entire venue.

Not long after they arrived, more and more Torch Captains began to fill the auction house.

In a little over an hour, over ten thousand people had gathered.

And in this crowd, every one of them was at least a cruiser captain; there were no fewer than a thousand Zhulu-class Cruiser Captains in attendance.

“Counting us, there are twelve Star-Annihilator Captains at this auction! I’m willing to bet half the Star-Annihilator Captains in the Five-Plate Galaxy Cluster are here!”

It was Song Yan who spoke, having quietly tallied things up. Twelve Star-Annihilator Captains had shown up already, not including Immortal factions who’d only sent one or two sixth-tier captains.

That alone gave a sense of how grand this auction was—and how fierce the bidding would get soon.

Once the house was packed, the Chigu Luo Clan, as host, quickly announced the official start of the auction.

Overseeing it was one of their most powerful Dreadnought Captains. With a casual wave, the first auction item was brought out.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am Luo Yuantang. No need for lengthy introductions—the first item is a strand of Silver Upgraded Fire Source. Bidding is open to all. The auction starts now!”

As the Silver Upgraded Fire Source, also called ‘Frostbone Flame,’ was unveiled, the excitement in the room spiked instantly.

And that’s exactly what the Chigu Luo Clan wanted. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have dared to put up a Silver Upgraded Fire Source—an item on par with a Gold Component—for bidding right at the start.

In the end, this ‘Frostbone Flame’ was won by a sixth-tier Dreadnought Captain for one drop of newly-acquired seventh-tier Evil God Blood, plus a hundred strands of Seventh‑Tier Floating-land Origin.

Some did offer up a Gold Sanctum Domain Component, but it was clear the Luo Clan valued the drop of Evil God Blood more.

After that deal was settled, many captains in the audience shared the same thought.

“Looks like the Luo Clan’s going all in, hoping for a shot at making a Star-Annihilator Captain in these last decades.”

…

From their box upstairs, Song Yan whispered:

“If that’s the plan, why not do it sooner? Even if they succeed now, it’s unlikely a new captain would master seventh-tier Guiding Technique in time.”

Song Chi had his own take on this.

“It seems logical, but with over twenty thousand years of history, the Luo Clan must have factions even they can’t keep track of. With that kind of internal bickering, reaching consensus has to be a pain.”

Hearing this, Song Yan immediately thought of the Eagle Family and quickly accepted the reasoning.

After the great expansion war in the Tianpan Galaxy, the Morningstar Duchy upgraded to a kingdom. Its territory exploded more than tenfold. Most of it was snapped up by the Morningstar Family and the Song Family, but even the other noble houses got more than they could handle.

And yet, under such circumstances, the Eagle Family barely managed to groom a single Dreadnought Captain in the past few decades—even then only under immense pressure from the Four Great Empires.

Their drastic internal strife left room for other forces in the Morningstar Kingdom to catch up and even surpass.

With such a glaring example right there, Song Yan found Song Chi’s point impossible to deny.

Then Song Chi added:

“That said, with the Luo Clan finally reaching a compromise under pressure, if they actually manage to pull off an ascension this time, it could be the chance for their revival.”

Both Song Wujian and Song Yan nodded in agreement.

If they produce another Star-Annihilator Captain, the Luo Clan will speak with a single voice from now on, whether by choice or not. For a lineage that’s lasted over twenty millennia, that’s the best possible news.

With that much history and unity, the power they can unleash is unimaginable.

Of course, it’s still a long shot—other immortal houses in the Tianqi Kingdom aren’t just window dressing.

Who knows how it’ll actually play out; these other great forces will have a say too.

As they spoke, the auction reached its halfway point. Most of the items had been sold, including rare Silver Legendary Components, Red Advancement Fire Sources, and even sixth-tier slave creatures.

During the break, Song Chi also won a small sample of Antimatter Source. Since the Antimatter Evolution Engine upgraded to black quality, it hasn’t hit its limit yet and can keep absorbing Antimatter Sources for more upgrades.

But gathering enough Antimatter Source is a huge task—the amount he got this time was less than one-twentieth of what’s needed.

“Next up are the final five showcase treasures of the auction. Here comes the first.”

As the auction entered its climax, the fifth-from-last item came out—glowing only with silver light.

“What’s going on? A silver component for a headline slot?”

…

Instantly, the entire auction house erupted in loud commotion.

Luckily, the Luo Clan’s top Dreadnought quickly spoke up, getting the crowd back in order.

“Please, everyone, settle down. Take a look at the details on this item first.”

As he spoke, the display panel for the silver component popped up.

Darkstar Mystic Turtle Armor lv0

Quality: Silver

Attribute 1: Increases warship hull integrity by 110%

Attribute 2: Boosts hull armor defense by 15%

Attribute 3: Requires only one equipment slot

Attribute 4: Darkstar’s Blessing

Consumption: 30 Eon Energy Points per second

Effect: When equipped, the warship gains a Darkstar aura. If attacked, this aura triggers, cutting half the incoming damage for five minutes.

Cooldown: 24 hours

…

{Darkstar’s Blessing: Spends 100,000 Eon Energy Points to link up to 1,000 allied warships. All linked ships get an additional 15% to shield and hull armor defense for five minutes. Cooldown: 720 hours.}

After the attributes appeared, everyone in the auction house collectively drew a deep breath.

Though the ‘Darkstar Mystic Turtle Armor’ was only a silver component, it was undeniably a true group-enhancement module.

To put it another way, it was a silver-tier strategic component, every bit as valuable as an ordinary Gold Sanctum Domain Component. In the civilization war looming ahead, its worth could rise even higher.

As the auction house buzzed with excitement, a deep male voice came from one of the top-tier boxes.

“Has anyone tried upgrading this part before? After reaching seventh tier, how many warships can it link to at most?”

The moment the voice faded, quiet discussion broke out on the floor.

“That’s the Whale King! Even the Sun Clan is interested in this part?”